WEGO officers intend to file labor complaint

EAST GOSHEN — The officers of the Westown-East Goshen Regional Police Department plan to file an unfair labor practices complaint with state authorities after township officials announced they intend to disband the department Monday.

The Westtown-East Goshen Police Association, the bargaining body of the police officers, plans to file the complaint with the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board. The association’s attorney, Joseph Chupein, said Tuesday that township officials began negotiations for a new contract with over a year left on the existing deal, but failed to follow established procedures to allow talks to continue in good faith.

“The proposed action to disband the Regional Police Department under these circumstances is clearly unlawful,” Chupein said. “Even though there is more than a year left on the existing labor agreement, the employers initiated collective bargaining with the police union. By law, that process is subject to an obligation to negotiate in good faith. If the parties cannot come to an agreement through negotiations, the proper procedure is to proceed to binding arbitration to resolve the differences. The Police Association entered into those negotiations with the expectation that the employers would engage in a good faith process, according to law.”

Westtown’s board of supervisors chairman Charles P. Barber read a joint statement Monday from the township and East Goshen that revealed the intention to disband the police department. Barber said the Police Association failed to accept the townships’ final proposal for a new contract, and negotiations would not continue as both took steps to disband the department.

Chupein indicated the townships’ offer was issued as an ultimatum, and he reiterated that negotiations were not held in good faith, resulting in the decision to file a complaint with the labor relations board.

“Instead, the employers threatened to disband the Department and terminate the employment of the officers unless the employees agree to exactly what the employers demanded,” said Chupein. “The employers compounded their unlawful conduct when they announced that they will refuse to proceed to arbitration as the law requires. The employers failure to engage in a good faith process of negotiation, their resort to unlawful coercion and duress, and their refusal to proceed to arbitration will form the basis for a Charge of Unfair Labor Practice that the Association with the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board. Additional legal action is also being considered.”

Association officials said the townships’ plan to disband the department is fiscally reckless due to an increase in pension burdens and costly legal fees to labor attorneys as the issue likely heads toward a contentious legal battle.

“The actions of the township supervisors are fiscally reckless and will result in substantial increases in costs for the taxpayers of East Goshen and Westtown,” said Anthony Ruggieri, President of the Westtown-East Goshen Police Association. “Given the strong support from local residents for maintaining our current police department and the hundreds of thousands of dollars in concessions that are men and women in law enforcement have already made, the supervisors’ actions are mind-boggling.”

Ruggieri said that disbanding the department will only make the townships’ pension liability worse, as they will be no longer benefit from $6,500 per officer per year in state aid and payments from current officers in the amount of $5,000 per officer, per year.

“By disbanding the police department, the township will be forced to shoulder the entire pension costs by itself, both for existing retirees, as well as those officers who are vested in the pension,” Ruggieri said. “They are only making their pension issues worse, especially considering the numerous concessions we made to help alleviate long-term pension costs.”

Township officials argue that their proposals were generous offers that the Police Association should have agreed to. According to the joint statement read at Monday’s meeting, the officers were offered a 3.5 percent pay raise in the first year, and a 2.25 percent increase in the subsequent five years. The officers were also offered a new health care plan with a $2,000 deductible for single officers and $4,000 for family coverage, though 50 percent of the deductible would be covered by a township funded savings account. The officers would also not be asked to contribute to health care premiums, the statement said.

Another major point of contention in negotiations was the townships’ requirement that the officers accept a reduction in the current 70 percent disability pension benefit to a 50 percent disability pension.

Association officials said they had already offered a reduction in wage increases, agreed to the modified health care plan and the reduced pension.